Tuesday, May 10 at 10a.m. in

Auglaize County.

Auglaize County Commission-

ers Office.

209 S. Blackhoof Street #201

Wapakoneta, OH 45895

Lima Allen Council on Communi-

ty Affairs will celebrate the un-

veiling of our new name West

Ohio Community Action Partner-

ship. The new name reflects the

new region we are serving (Allen,

Auglaize and Mercer Counties)

and the possibility of our future

growth.

Wednesday, May 18 at 10a.m. in

Mercer County LACCA

420 N. Brandon Ave.

Celina, OH 45822

M ay is Community

Action Month

and Lima Allen Council on

Community Affairs is cele-

brating with the following

upcoming events:

Presentation of the Step-

ping Stones to Success

Awards

Stepping Stones to Success

Awards are given to indi-

viduals and organizations

who are dedicated to help-

ing low income individuals

in our community through

their tireless volunteering

efforts and recognizing the

achievements of the partici-

pants in our programs. The

Stepping Stones Award was

created in 2014 on LAC-

CA’s 20th anniversary. The

motto “Stepping Stones to

Success” was developed by

LACCA staff to describe

how we help low-income

people.

Special

Points Of

interest

Family Engagement

ABLE/GED

PIPP

Inside this issue:

Family Engagement 2

PIPP 3

Wealth Prep 4

St. Matthews 5

Emily Murphy! 5

Head Start/Early Head Start

6

Coloring Page 7

Board of Trustees 8

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 8

Message from the Chief Executive Officer

2016

Head Start classes are in need for volunteers for the remainder of the

2015-16 program year. We are looking for individuals who are interested in volunteering in one of our

Head Start classrooms.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact Janet Buchanan at

(419) 227-0158 EXT. 116

PAGE 2

Parents have been engaged

and involved in our Head Start Allen

East II classroom this school year. Par-

ent participation has been great and

there are some exciting things going

on to end the school year. On April

28th, the monthly family meeting was

held the for Allen East II classroom.

Layfette’s Librarian read a story from

author Eric Carle. Parents were invit-

ed to stay for lunch and a speaker

from Lowes ended the day by assisting

the children with building their own

bird feeder. On May 5th, the Allen

East II classroom held a Touch-a-

Truck event. Parents have assisted in

getting community members to bring

in trucks that the children were able

to see and get pictures taken with.

On May 10th, LACCA will be

holding the Spring Family Engagement

Event from 4:00pm-6:00pm. This event

will be held at Safety City. The theme

for this Family Engagement Event will

be Health and Safety. Community mem-

bers from DARE, the Fire Department,

the Police Department, United Health

Care, Buckeye, as well as many others

will be present. A meal will be provid-

ed as well as door prizes and outdoor

activities.

Natasha Korte

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 8

Utility Appointment Tips

When to call for an appointment?

If it is Winter Crisis and the customer has a disconnect notice.

If it is Summer Crisis and the customer is 60 years of age or someone in the home has a chronic illness documented by a health care provider.

If the customer wants to enroll in PIPP Plus Program.

If it time for the customer’s annual PIPP Plus re-verification.

If there is an increase or decrease in the customer’s household income.

Where to call for an appointment?

LACCA now uses an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) to schedule appointments.

Customers now call 1-855-286-7559 to schedule an appointment in Allen, Auglaize, or Mercer.

After scheduling appointment customer should write down their confirmation number.

The IVR appointment line is open 24-hours per day, 7-days per week.

The IVR lines are busier in early morning and afternoon so customers are encouraged to try scheduling at alternate times.

When to come as a walk-in

During the winter program if service is completely off, less than 25% of bulk fuel in tank, or customer establishing new service.

Walk-ins are processed daily in all counties.

Required Documentation

Proof of Income for every household member 18-years of age or older.

Social Security Cards for all household members.

Most recent gas and electric bill.

During winter if use propane, fuel oil, coal or wood will need documentation of provider and cost of delivery.

If applying on behalf of another individual a notarized statement is required.

What is PIPP Plus?

Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus is an extended payment plan that requires regulated gas and electric companies to accept payments

based on a percentage of the household income. If a customer heats with gas, 6% of the monthly household income is paid to the gas company,

and 6% is paid to the customer’s electric company. If the customer is total electric the monthly plan amount would be 10% of household income.

When to re-verify PIPP Plus?

PIPP Plus must be re-verified every 12-months.

Failure to re-verify can result in the applicant being removed from the program.

Failure can also result in the PIPP Plus defaulted amount becoming due immediately.

When there are income changes the customer should call IVR to schedule an appointment to update their household income.

PIPP Plus responsibilities

Paying utility provider on time and in full each month.

Making up any missed payments before anniversary date.

Reporting changes in income and household size.

PAGE 4

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 8

Roslyn (not the real

name) is a single, employed

mother raising one child. She

works part time and receives

Social Security monthly. Roslyn

completed the Wealth Prep

Class in February 2014. She

was referred from Habitat for

Humanity. Roslyn’s first follow

-up visit with LACCA’s Finan-

cial Literacy Specialist was Feb-

ruary 13, 2014.

Over time, Roslyn has

completed an action plan, a fi-Con’t on page 6

Number of Years working for LACCA: 1 First thing you do when you get to work: Eat my oatmeal & Check emails

About your family: I will be getting married to my fiancé, Jeffrey in one month, whom I have been with for 4 1/2 years! I have three dogs: Penny, Ella and Riley. I also have two cats: Spoof and Snickers. My animals are my life :)

Hobbies: Reading, crocheting, and spending time with my dogs Dream Vacation: I have always want-ed to go to Ireland! Favorite Restaurant: Oh man...I would have to say Outback Steakhouse in Findlay. It’s the bomb! Favorite Actor: Mellissa McCarthy!! Hands down the funniest female actress ever! Favorite Movie: Dinner for Shmucks. (If you haven’t see it, you need to!) Favorite Sport: I am not very good at any sports, so I would have to say that I enjoy WATCHING football!

Getting to know…..

Enrollment/

Data Entry

Specialist

We are celebrating Spring and learning about insects and butterflies. The children have enjoyed reading books such as, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Ladybug. We made homemade play dough and created our own caterpillars and spi-ders. The children found sticks and stones to add to their creations. We discussed how each animal lives and the different foods each animal eats. We hope everyone is en-joying the weather as much as we are!

We would like to wish everyone a Safe and Happy Summer Break!

St. Matthews Head Start !

Lima/Allen Council on

Community Affairs

**********

Head Start &

Early Head Start

Give your 0-5 year old child a Head Start, by enrolling them in our school readiness program

WE OFFER FOR FREE:

HEALTH SERVICES DENTAL SERVICES NUTRITIONAL SERVICES

QUALITY EDUCATION SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES MENTAL HEALTH

SOCIAL SERVICES COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES PARENT PARTNERSHIPS

This is a FREE program for income eligible families!

Enrollment packets can be picked up at 540 S. Central Ave., Lima

Please contact our enrollment staff at (419)227-0158 ext. 109 or 216 with any questions.

We are on Facebook!! Go like our LACCA page at https://www.facebook.com/LACCALima

Or visit us at www.lacca.org

nancial assessment, and is now working

on achieving her financial goals. Roslyn’s

goal is to improve her credit score and

purchase her first home through Habitat

for Humanity. The Financial Literacy

Specialist assisted Roslyn in creating a

realistic budget and maintaining her

budget monthly. She has cut back on

spending in order to work on paying off

her medical bills and paying off a civil

judgment against her. The Financial Lit-

eracy Specialist assisted Roslyn with con-

tacting the creditor to make payment ar-

rangements to pay off her debt. The Fi-

nancial Literacy Specialist also discussed

the importance of having a savings

and the need to earn more income to

meet the income requirements for

Habitat for Humanity. In January

2015, Roslyn brought in proof of her

credit score which was at 599. In

August 2015, Roslyn got a part time

job. With her income from her part

time job, she now meets the mini-

mum income requirements. Roslyn

also started a savings account and

saved $500 so that she could apply

for a secured credit card to help im-

prove her credit score. In November

2015, Roslyn raised her credit score

to 621. Roslyn continued

to pay her bills on time,

keep her balance low on

her credit card, and she had

completely paid off the

debt that was on her credit

report.

In January 2016,

Roslyn was accepted into

the Home Ownership pro-

gram with a credit score of

648. Roselyn is currently

taking Home Ownership

classes.

Con’t from page 4

GET ON BOARD WITH HEAD START!

PAGE 7

Ingredients

1TB Olive Oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

1t ground cumin

2TB dried oregano

1TB salt

2 Stalks Celery, Chopped

2 Green bell peppers, chopped

3 Cloves garlic, chopped

2 (4oz) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained

2 (12oz) pkg. vegetarian burger crumbles

3 (28oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed

1/4c Chili Powder

1 TB ground black pepper

1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained

1(15oz) can garbanzo beans, drained

1(15oz) can black beans

1 (15oz) can whole kernel corn

What To Do: 1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion

mix in all ingredients except beans, corn and tomato into pot. When heated through, reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer 5 minutes.

2. Mix in tomatoes, seasonings, beans, bring to boil reduce heat to low and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in corn, cook addi-tional 5 minutes before serving.

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 8

LIMA ALLEN COUNCIL ON COMMUNITY AFFAIRS BOARD OF TRUSTEES – 2016

Representatives must be One Third Private Business, One Third Public Entity, and One Third Low Income

In April we took our children to the Main

Street Fire Department where Firemen Eric

Music and Mark Salas gave the children a tour

of the Fire Department. The children were

able to see where the firemen sleep, eat and

spend their time while they are working their

24 hour shifts. The kids got to see the firemen

slide down the fire pole and they were also

able to see the firemen dress themselves in

their full fire attire. They discussed the rules

of fire safety and practiced stop, drop and roll

with the children. At the end of the visit the

children were able to sit in the fire truck one at

a time in order to get the full experience. We

are very thankful that the Firemen took time

out of their busy schedule to meet with our

classrooms and we look forward to going

again next school year!

VaVooM